The Glesser Family Blog

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T13:01:00.000-07:00

As usual we have way to many pumpkins considering we don't even have a porch to place them on.

Jacob had 3 different costumes this year. Here is in a monkey costume.

Alex was also 2 different people this year. As per last year, he was Mario.

Jacob followed after his older brothers and wore the infamous Yoda costume.

Jonathan's first costume was Mr. Incredible. Here is waiting for trick or treating at the high school. It snowed 6 inches the day before and was mighty cold.

We went to the mall to trick or treat with some friends. Here Jonathan is a mad scientist which was also Alex's second costume for a previous event. The mall was a madhouse considering half of Massachusetts is still out of power from the big snow storm a couple days ago.

Here is the gang for Halloween night. We went with our friends the Cotters just like last year.

Pumpkin Patch And Apple Picking

2011-10-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

It has been such a beautiful October. We are right before Halloween now so I thought it was high time we made it to a pumpkin patch. As always we played on the hay maze. The boys had a great time and gave me some great smiles.

I was surprised to get two group shots that turned out decent.

Jacob really took to the apple picking. He would pick one, take a bite, drop it and then pick another. I had to sit him in the wagon with just one so he would waste to many. The older boys ate 2 or 3 whole ones each and we left with many to make into apple muffins.

Once at home we had to do some pumpkin painting. I didn't want to cut them since we have several more days until Halloween. No need to let them rot in our apartment.

Soccer in October

2011-10-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

October has been filled with school and soccer. We all go to the games and it is lots of fun. Since Alex is on the big field this year it is a little more exciting. He has gotten much better, more aggressive and when he goes to do something most of the time he actually does it. Here are some shots of a Friday evening on the field.

Jonathan plays Saturday morning. We all are there cheering him on.

He is a kidder.

The Beach in the Fall!

2011-10-10T12:34:00.000-07:00

It is way hard to believe but today it was 90 degrees out. I quickly packed the kids up, the beach toys, a picnic and headed to the beach. It is not all that hard to take 3 kids to the beach for 6 hours. They are kept so busy it is amazing. This was one of the best days of the "summer". We had so much fun. Of course, it is off season so we went to the uber expensive beach for free and of course, the facilities were closed. At one point I had to dig a hole in the sand for Alex. Yuck!

Apple Picking

2011-09-19T11:19:00.000-07:00

Uncle Don and soon to be Aunt Brigid came for a visit on their way to New York. Brigid was very excited to do some apple picking now that she is living in the northeast. We took them to our favorite place Parlee Farms.

The Hay Maze was up so the boys spent lots of time running around on it.

We got to feed to goats. A trip to the farm would not be the same without it.

Finally we made it out to the fields. We picked over 30 lbs of apples. It is a good thing I gave half of them to Don and Brigid or we would really be up to our eyeballs in apple sauce and apple bread.

Jacob loved the apples. He chewed through about 3 before we realized he could reach the bag.

Thanks for visit Don and Brigid. We had fun.

The Very Hungry Catepillar

2011-09-18T08:39:00.000-07:00

In August two of my good friends had beautiful baby boys. I was so happy to make them a Very Hungry Caterpillar quilt. They were both very much the same with just a tad bit of differences in the placement of the fruit, and other edibles.

Baby Brayden got the smaller one that has red borders.

This was the only picture of Baby Caleb's that came out. The quilt was much bigger and bordered in blue.

I love them both tons. They were very different then my normal quilt considering I appliqued most of it.

First Day of Preschool

2011-09-09T05:58:00.000-07:00

Jonathan had his first day of preschool today. He looks very happy in the morning, was all excited and ready to go.

When we got there Alex gave him a big hug. It was so touching.

And then Jonathan started screaming and it took him nearly an hour to calm down. A fire engine came to the school for their fire drill and that helped a little but he was back to screaming shortly after it left. He went to school all last year so I am not sure what is going on. It probably doesn't help that Alex gets to stay home.

First Day of Homeschool

2011-09-04T16:26:00.000-07:00

We started Alex's first official day of Homeschooling. Although he has been doing quite a bit already, this year is the first year where we have to submit our curriculum to the superintendent and gain approval.

Alex worked hard all day. We did some spelling, and learned some cursive.

He started doing some silent reading time. We got this big blue chair for him last year and now he uses it every single day.

He loves it.

Jacob helped out some.

Our first project was a time line of Alex's life. He decided to use birthday party pictures. It really turned out cute.

The next project was an archaeological dig. I basically buried some toys and utensils and the boys dug them up.

Jonathan got to help out on this one.

I think we would have done more except that I was being eaten alive by mosquitoes. For some reason they love me way too much. None of the boys got bitten but I had about a dozen after this adventure.

Summer Pics From My Phone!

2011-08-28T05:14:00.000-07:00

While stuck in the house due to a nice size hurricane I decided to download the pictures from my camera and post some of the good ones. I am very please with the quality of this camera phone. It is good for those all the sudden cute moments when I didn't luge my big camera out.

The boys took 6 weeks of tennis lessons this summer. It was 4 days a week for an hour. I think we skipped one day due to 105 degree heat and missed one for rain but other then that they were out there all the time. They loved it, especially Alex. Jonathan got tired halfway through a lot of the classes but to be honest it was meant for older kids. I think Alex would have done even better in a more advanced class. But he firmed up the basic skills.

Our one and old major beach day.

When Adam was in Spain I took the boys into Boston to visit with our bestest friends Kevin and Kayla. I took only 3 pics the whole time. Here they are.

That is right, I took all 3 boys on the train all by myself. They were great.

Uncle Don visited twice.

Pool day!

We had several play dates with our friends the Carrieres. They have a great big backyard that is in the shade all afternoon. One time Ms Debbie got the pool stuff out. They loved it.

Jacob had his first Popsicle.

Jacob loves to draw on the white board.

For all the Patriot fans out there.

The boys dressed up the a trip to the book store. I think Jonathan is a ninja and Alex is a samurai.

Playdate at the Turner's.

Park Day!

As you can see Jacob has not fallen into the no pictures for the 3rd child syndrome. Enjoy the last few days of summer.

Walking Boy! (well almost walking)

2011-08-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

We got out the walking toy for Jacob right around his birthday. It did not take long for him to push it around. He will go from on side of the apartment to the other, scream out "nah, nah" at which point someone will run to turn him around, and repeat again.

We have been practicing for over a week but I finally got some video last night of the progress.

I am actually really looking forward to him being able to walk completely on his own. I think he will enjoy the part a great deal more if he was trying to avoid putting his knees down to crawl.

I am thinking that he will be running us everywhere very soon.

Just for Fun

2011-08-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

I have some time to add a few cute pics that we have taken recently.

The boys cuddling up in the morning for some TV while we all get ready for the day. Jacob usually doesn't watch at all but here I caught him with Alex. It lasted about 10 seconds.

Jacob actually draws on the whiteboard with serious intent. And the amazing part: he then will erase everything he drew. Amazing!

Adam decided to copy the Epic Mealtime people and we stuffed some sausage into a steak and then wrapped it in bacon. It was marvelous. I think we will do it again sometime.

Jonathan has a tendency to fall asleep on the couch at about 6:30pm after a hard day of major playing. Here he couldn't even finish his meatball.

Happy Birthday Alex!

2011-08-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

It is really hard to believe that Alex is already 6 years old.

This year his party is a week after his actual party with his friends. It meant that we got to make a quick trip to the very yummy bakery just outside our complex. This is only the second time I have walked into the place and we have lived here 2years.The older two boys each picked out something special.

Alex's big party was at a bowling alley so, of course, I had to make a cake with a theme to match.

Here are some shots of everyone playing.

Jacob missed his nap but instead gave Adam lots of hugs.

Happy Birthday to my first baby boy!

How big is...

2011-07-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

Today we went for the boys yearly physicals. Usually the doctor won't do 3 kids at a time but he changed around Alex's appointment so many times that we finally had to put them all together. Here are their stats:

Alex

Height: 46.5 inches (last year: 44.25)

Weight: 48.2 pounds ( last year: 44.2)

We are very happy that Alex has gained almost all the weight he lost back. He is just like his old self. Did I mention that he can ride his bike now? About a week before his 6th birthday I took off the training wheels and he was riding in about 10 minutes.

Jonathan

Height: 43.25 (last year: 40)

Weight: 40.8 (last year: 36.2)

Jonathan is definitely longer and leaner then Alex was at this age. His feet are a fraction of an inch smaller then Alex's right now. I might be in trouble when it comes to winter boots this year. The last thing I want is for kids to be in the same size. As it is he is already wearing what Alex wore last summer rather then 2 summers ago like you would expect.

Jacob

Height:30 inches

Weight: 23.4 inches

Jacob has settled into more of a norm for the Glesser boys. His body type is more like Alex's (not quite as long as Jonathan has always been) He is in the 60 percentile for both height and weight. This of course, makes me happy since he will more on track for hand me downs. (can you see what my thoughts lead to as they grow)

I was very lucky to have Adam home to help me through the physicals. Of course, this year only Jacob needed shots so it wasn't quite as bad as last year when I was 1 day from delivering Jacob and my mom had to hold the boys down while being kicked repeatedly in the shines.

Happy Birthday Jacob!

2011-07-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

We are so happy to celebrate Jacob's 1st birthday today. The boys went through all their old baby toys and picked out a few to give him. (so happy that I packed so much away) Adam and I gave him the little riding toy. Both the older boys had one but it was among the many things we got rid of before Jacob existed.

Thank you Grandpa Allen and Carol for the cars.

Considering no one in our family is huge fans of cake and that Alex's birthday is tomorrow. We did cookies for special dessert. This is a favorite among the kids. Especially Jacob.

Yum!

Jacob goes for his 12 months physical on Wednesday so I will post his stats then.

Baby Katie Quilt

2011-07-23T08:17:00.000-07:00

This might be one of my favorite quilts that I have made. Very simple but very nice. I gave it to my bestest friend Carol who just had baby number 4. Katie Ann on June 6th. Can't wait to get to meet her.

Cute in July

2011-07-23T08:08:00.000-07:00

Morning time in the summer comes very early. As soon as the sun comes up in fact. Which, unfortunately, is before 5am. Usually, I can get Jacob back to sleep by nursing him in our bed. This morning Alex actually fell back asleep too. There is no hope with Jonathan. When he is up he is going 100%.

Uncle Don came to visit. He is in school in CT right now. Hopefully, we get to see him more often.

Here is a very rare lap nap. Of course, Adam can fall asleep in about a minute, Jacob takes much longer.

He is too cute.

I was getting everyone ready to go the other day and turned to get Jacob and saw this. I have no idea how he managed this one but he was sure proud of himself.

Alex drew this for Jonathan today. I couldn't believe how detailed his beach setting was. I am so glad that we got a great art curriculum for next year all set up.

Beach Day

2011-06-30T05:51:00.000-07:00

Adam has been in Spain, playing around on the beach for over a week. So we decided that we should follow suit and go too. This was the first time to the beach with Jacob. I must say taking all 3 boys by myself was scarey but turned out just great.

Jacob loved the beach. Not so much the sand but he did get used to it.

Jacob is 11 months!

2011-06-25T05:49:00.000-07:00

Jacob is already 11 months old. So hard to believe. He has started pulling up on everything and cruising around. He has been soldier crawling for awhile but now he is beginning to get up off his tummy. He has an amazingly sweet personality. Always ready for hugs and giggles. We sure love him.

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

2011-06-23T05:36:00.000-07:00

For Jonathan's fourth birthday we celebrated with lots of friends at Putt Around Golf. The boys love this place and it was a quick fix to our picnic party that got rained out.

Jonathan was the first one to start playing and he had a blast.

Of course, Alex also had fun.

Emily and Owen came.

Nathan!

Noah!

This was Jonathan's favorite hole.

Alex concentrating...

Here is baby Christopher, who is only 2 months older then Jacob. His brothers are Nicholas and Jonathan and are only 1 day older then our Jonathan.

All the kids got to watch these little 3-d movies. They were only 5 minutes each so everyone got lots of turns.

The place had lots of games to play. Alex and Noah loved the mini air hockey. Which is right next to the full sized air hockey.

We all had pizza.

I can't believe my baby is already 4.

Jonathan designed the cake. He said he wanted a chocolate cake in the shape of a 4 with rainbows on it.

Here is the whole gang. Thanks everyone for coming. It was great.

Bowling Party

2011-06-17T05:29:00.000-07:00

Every time Alex finishes a big part of his schooling we try and celebrate somehow. This year when he finished his first year spelling book he chose bowling. This is hardly a surprise as he loves to bowl. (May09)

Jonathan has finally got the hang of it. One good thing is that here in New England most bowling alleys are candlepin which is a much smaller ball. The boys can throw them down the lane much easier this way.

He actually had a spare for the first time and was very proud.

Alex also did great. They had a fun time.

jacob is excited to get to play. Maybe next year.

Sesame Place!

2011-06-06T13:34:00.000-07:00

Our trip was not finished after picking Adam up in VA. We drove 5 more hours up to Sesame Place. This was the greatest place in the whole wide world. I loved it..the boys loved it...we want to go again.

We stayed the whole day and drove home the 5 hours that night. All in all it was 2200 miles driven. All but 180 by me. We are happy to be home.

Onward!

2011-06-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

From DC we drove a quick 2 hours...ok it took us 4 hours to Charlottesville, VA. Here I was to drop Adam off for a big math conference. The boys and I stayed over night and left at about 7:45am to make the 5 hour drive to Weaverville, NC where my brothers are living in my parents house. Well...about 3o minutes into the mountains with barely any cell coverage the van decided in no longer liked a hose that attached to the radiator. It was so angry it destroyed the radiator on its way out. The boys rode in a cop car ( I had to flag one down since my road side assistance could not be contacted) Jacob and I road in the tow truck. Four hours and $500 bucks later we were on the way again. I think Adam owes me a bit for this one. Sitting in a tiny mechanics office for 4 hours with the boys just plan sucked.

But we made it to the house and started to party with the Uncles.

Bonfire night!

We found a jumpy thing at the mall. Our mall got rid of the one that we usually take the boys to so they were thrilled to go on this one.

It was still fairly hot on the east coast so on the last day visiting the uncles we got the sprinklers out.

I think my boys worked these guys pretty good.

Washington DC trip

2011-06-01T12:54:00.000-07:00

We had to change a few of our vacation plans after Alex's surgery. Originally Janice was going to watch Alex and Jonathan while Jacob and I went with Adam to his conference in Atlanta. We decided that it was best that I stayed to make sure Alex's recovery went smoothly. He had only been out of the hospital for 2 days when Adam left and it was hard for him to be away from home.

Janice helped out a lot when Adam was gone.

Our trip to DC was not changed even when a yucky stomach flu ran through the house. Jacob and I were missed which was very nice for me. I was able to pack, clean the house and take care of sickies. I also drove the whole 12 hours to DC. It really should have only taken 8.

We arrived and had a blast the whole time.

The boys fav: the Washington Monument.

Mine was the Lincoln memorial. We were very bummed when we discovered that the pond was being renovated.

It was tremendously hot out so we spent lots of time finding shade. The Washington Memorial gave plenty for this good shot.

This was about as close as we got to the White House. It was memorial day weekend and we ran into all sorts of tour bus issues and the Rolling Thunder parade which lasts about 10 hours.

Our fav part was the American History museum. The boys just had a blast and it was in the AC which was great considering it was well over 90 outside and Adam and Janice were still not 100% recovered.

the boys on the old fashioned buses they had set up.

The only family picture could get.

Love him.

This poor boy did not sleep well on this trip. Not set naptime gave for very poor sleeping at night. Which meant I got very bad sleep as well.

I love the DC shirt.

Here are the boys hanging out in front of the Capitol Building talking about history.

PEACE!

It was over 100 degrees on day 2. Since our tour bus wasn't running we had to walk way too much. At one point we found some shade and Adam ran (I mean actually ran) 3 blocks to get water and Popsicles. He was just about dead when he got back to us but our yummys were still frozen.

The last of the 3 days our tour bus was running and we made use of it. We got to see a lot of the memorials that we couldn't walk too.

Jefferson Memorial

View of the White House from Jefferson Memorial.

Lincoln Memorial

Always wanted to sit on those steps. Just like in the movies.

We finished off our National Mall tour with the Natural History Museum. Of course, the bugs were the best part.

After dropping Janice off at the Dulles airport Adam and I headed out to the National Zoo with the boys. This was another very hot day and we spend most of the time searching for the misters.

The boys made some new friends.

Lovely!

Well, that was our trip to DC. We had such a great time. Hopefully we can go again when it is not quite so hot and not a national holiday.

10 Months

2011-05-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

Jacob is 10 months old now. Hard to believe. He is doing just amazing and is the light of our lives.

Appendicitis

2011-05-19T11:55:00.000-07:00

On May 16th I made Alex's favorite dinner. Homemade pizza and brownies. He stated his tummy hurt and would not eat anything ( except a few bites of brownies). We really didn't think too much of this as he had just gotten over the stomach flu. He had lost nearly 5 pounds with this sickness which is why he got to eat the brownies without dinner. We really wanted him to gain back some of the weight.

On May 17th, I was preparing all day for my Mother in Law, Janice to visit. I was to pick her up at the airport after a fun filled day. We had plans to go to the park for a homeschool social, Alex had piano lessons and we had to drive to Boston to pick Adam up on the way to the airport. After eating no breakfast due to tummy issues I cancelled the park outing and continued about my day of cleaning. I was thinking, "yay, I might actually get the place cleaned up in time." At about 2pm, following no lunch being eaten I started to worry. Alex's tummy was really bothering him at this point. But none of the really obvious signs were there. No fever, his tummy hurt all the time, everywhere; not just on the right side or when you let go from pushing on it. He hadn't thrown up or anything else that is suspect. I decided to cancel piano lessons and then called my mom. She is always my backup. I figure why pay out the copayment if Mamaw can figure it out. Immediately she said call the doc. Ok so when was I going to fit that in considering I had to leave in an hour to do pickups which would take at least 2 hours. So I made an appt for 6:45pm. I love my peds office. They are open 7 days a week, even late hours. I got everyone in the car at 3pm and headed into town. (I did remember the barf bucket and it did come in handy). We grabbed Adam and then grabbed Janice and headed home for a quick dropoff. Alex and I headed over to the doc. She was not our primary but I had her before and love her. Dr. Sachs couldn't be sure what the issue was. He was still doing weird things, like jumping up and down, laughing and running. I had to mention that he has been moaning all day long and I had to carry him to and from the car. She decided the best thing to do was to send us to Winchester Hospital. I called Adam on the way and we felt it was best he stayed with the other boys and just I went. For all we knew Alex just needed to take a big dump. We arrived at 7:15pm and things went slow and quick. Here he is before any needles when they were letting his draw on the sheets.

It seemed to take forever but by 9pm we had finished a sonogram that couldn't find his appendix and by 10pm he had an IV so that he could get a CT scan. He had to drink 4 oz of the juice stuff every hour. This was not easy considering he was exhausted and thoroughly pissed about the IV. At 1am we were bumped from the CT scan for a real emergency. Finally at 2am he was brought in for the CT scan. He cried through the whole thing. The dye they put in him made him feel like he was going to burn up and wet himself at the same time. At 3am they came back with news that he had appendicitis and that he had to be transferred to Tufts Childrens in Boston. Yay Ambulance Ride! He woke up for this and didn't get upset for the whole half hour. We arrived there at 4:30am. By this point I was so tired I could barely stand yet so scared that I was wide awake. My phone had died and I was borrowing doctors phone to call Adam. I couldn't use the hospital one since Adam's phone is a CA number. By 6am we met the anesthesiologist and got the happy drugs. (For Alex not me) I went into the operating room with him and said my "see you laters" right before he blissfully went to sleep.

Waking up for him was very difficult. The drugs made him very upset and I wasn't there. They actually had to knock him out again since he wouldn't settle down. Of course, I was in the room next door and could hear him screaming. But I was basically locked in to this sitting area. This may have been the worst 20 minutes of my life. Hearing him cry and scream for me and not being able to go to him. By 8:30am he was up in the children's wing.

One thing that has not been mentioned yet is that we only have one car. And since I rode in the ambulance with Alex it was at the other hospital. Adam was basically stuck. He ended up repeatedly calling our neighbor and got her to take him up to the hospital to pick it up. I think he was a few minutes away from renting a car from the Enterprise that is about 100 yards from our house. He made it up to the hospital by 10am and I was very relieved to see him.

Here is the first pic of Alex when he was still nicely drugged.

The drugs were wearing off at this point.

I had to go home in the late afternoon to feed Jacob and get some sleep. Adam stayed when Alex all night making sure he was comfy and happy.

Here we are taking him home on May 19th. All in all it was not quite 48 hours of hell. Of course, the recovery has become another story.

We were so lucky to have Janice fly in the day this all happened. She did a great job at taking care of Jonathan and Jacob. When Alex got home she was ready to play games with him anytime.

I know that an appendectomy is a fairly minor surgery but when it is happening to my 5 year it is major. I hope that none of the other kids ever have to go through it.

Th Big Apple Circus

2011-05-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

Today we took the train into Boston to see the Big Apple Circus. We thought the boys were finally old enough to sit through the whole thing and that Jacob is yet to become very difficult in that sort of setting.

An absolute must was that we get cotton candy. Love it !

We got there about 20 minutes early. Which is actually not that great considering how hard it is to keep these kids still. They munched on their cotton candy and sang with the music playing.

They were both really great during the performance. Somehow Jonathan fell asleep halfway through. With how loud and exciting it was this really surprised us. We had a great time and plan to go next year. Although, we may leave Jacob home then because an almost 2 year old would not do well in a 2 hour performance.

Jacob is Nine Months!

2011-05-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that Jacob is already 9 months old.

Check up stats:

21 lbs 14 oz : 75%

29 inches: 75%

I am happy that his growth didn't continue so rapidly. He is slowly getting into the range where the other boys were at. He has been in 12 month clothes for a couple months already and I have decided to buy 18 mo summer clothes so that he doesn't outgrow them.

Jacobs Fun facts:

Fav Foods: meatballs, beans, peas, corn, life cereal, whole apples (peeled), goldfish

Activities: dancing, crawling around, playing in the grass

Sleeping habits: sleeps from 7pm to 5am, eats then sleeps some more. Naps are horrible but we are making progress.

I had to give the older boys there due too:

They are all getting so big

Bath Time Fun!

2011-04-25T15:05:00.000-07:00

I know the title will probably be a little racey but I just had to post what bath time is like in our house. The three boys all climb in together and take up the whole space. Shortly after this bath we switched to individual baths for the big boys and we throw Jacob in with one of them for a short time. By the end the floor is still soaked and our backs still ache but at least there is less screaming.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T14:59:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Don and Mamaw came for a visit on Easter weekend. We actually celebrated on Saturday since they arrived Friday afternoon and left Sunday early in the morning. We were very happy for their visit.

The boys used their Halloween buckets again. The EB left the usual candy and Adam and I gave them some new backpacks with rollers. This was in anticipation of our vacation in late May when it would be nice for them to be able to carry their own luggage. The Halloween buckets are done for. They finally asked " why don't we have real baskets like the ones at the store." Bummer, but it was bound to happen sometime.

Here they are getting ready for the surprise.

Jacob started waving this weekend. It was so very very cute.

We tried to get a pic of all the boys but it never really turned out. Here was the best one.

Grandpa Don and Mamaw gave the boys some kites. We weren't able to fly them the day they got them due to severe rain but we got some time in the next day. I can't wait to get back out there. They just loved it.

Museum Trip

2011-04-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

I haven't taken the boys into Boston for a trip to the Children's museum in over a year. We had gone to the Science Museum last June but their behavior frightened me into doing it with 3 boys alone. I finally got over it and made the journey. We took the train into town and walked the mile or so to the museum. We then walked to Adam's office. Did I mention it rained the whole time? The boys did very well. By the time we were on the way back to the train station I was glad to have Adam with me. He had to carry a nearly asleep Jonathan. I missed the double Bob for the first time. But considering how hard it is to get the giant SUV stroller onto the train I am not sure how I would have managed with Jacob in my arms. Here are some shots of the boys playing at the museum.

Peep and the big wide world was their favorite:

Jacob's Progress

2011-04-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

Jacob has become our cuddling bug/ joker. He always seems to be laughing at something. If the big boys are around sometimes he laughs just to get their attention.

He has even started wrestling around with them. This is very one sided still. Usually, the bigger boys just roll around with him until I yell at them to get off the baby.

And of course, the much anticipated soldier crawl. Jacob started scotching at the start of April. For some reason I can't get the video to load so I will hopefully post it later.

Soccer Season Begins

2011-04-09T11:06:00.000-07:00

On April 7th soccer season began. Alex started us off with a late evening game. It has been raining so often that there was no practice to get everyone ready. But they all had fun anyway. Alex's good friend Emily is on his team and he was very excited to play with her.

It was freezing out. Probably 40 degrees with a below freezing windchill. So we all got our winter gear back out of the closets.

Alex had a blast as usual.

He is really getting the hang out of being goalie. His coaches have discovered that he has a real talent for the position. Much to our dislike they have been placing him at goalie for nearly half the game the past few weeks. After a couple of quick words from Adam that shouldn't be happening anymore. I think I was doubly perturbed by it when Alex asked to stop and they said " why...you are doing so good". Vomit!

Jonathan plays on Saturday morning. It isn't technically a game. Actually, they call it a clinic. For 30 minutes they run through drills and then for another 30 they scrimmage with another team. Jonathan loves this. He has really picked it up fast and has been asked to take a soccer camp this summer.

Once again we froze our tails off watching. This first game was the only one I watched for half the season. One was cancelled, one rained-out, one a by week, one was so cold I had to take Jacob home, and one I was very ill for. I was so sad but went this past week and saw amazing talent emerging.

Here is Alex watching his bro. Our friends are in the background. Owen plays on Jonathan's team which is good for Alex. He can play with Emily while waiting.

Here is Jonathan practicing.

Such a goof ball.

Vermont Pics Part 2

2011-03-31T08:18:00.001-07:00

I got picture from Robin, my sister in law, awhile ago but am just getting around to posting them. She got some really great shots of the boys playing together.

Here is Jonathan teaching Jack some silly faces.

We got the boys to sit still for one picture. We took several others but this ones is it for seeing all their faces.

Gus and Jacob loved to play together.

Jacob is 2 months younger but basically the same size as Gus. The good thing is that Gus is cruising and Jacob is not.

I love this one of my brother and Jack.

Adam went out sledding with everyone. I used Jacob as an excuse to stay inside and warm.

Grandpa and Alex...love it.

We may have been there for only 30 hours but we fit in a lot of fun. We didn't realize that the hotel we were staying at had an indoor pool so the boys went in their underwear. I don't think it bothered them at all.

In the evening Alex sat the boys down and read them a book. It was beyond cute. He was so good at reading the page and then showing the pictures.

Jonathan and Jack were also very attentive and liked being read to.

Afternoon at the Pool

2011-03-07T13:31:00.001-08:00

We spend several afternoons a week at the pool in our complex. The boys love it and considering how tired they get so do I.

OUTSIDE!

2011-03-07T12:52:00.000-08:00

This winter has been so rough on us. We are active people with very active boys. The massive amounts of snow fall and other bad weather has kept us stuck inside. I know we probably could have wrapped up some and gotten out more but quite frankely we are all California babies and just don't like it out there. But this weekend it hit the 50's. So we hit the park.

I just got a backpack for Jacob so that I can take the boys hiking this summer and I finally got to test it out. The kid is big so my shoulders were pretty sore. After a few hikes I am hoping to get used to it.

Lots of smiles from the boys. They had to run around in their boots since it was lots of mud and melting snow and slush.

We managed to climb into the park area and play awhile. We were sad to see that people just let their dogs poop everywhere all winter and we were stepping over it the whole walk. It was quite disgusting. Hello people...pick up the poop. When I let my kids poop at the park I pick it up.

Adam took a turn with Jacob. I think Jacob really likes being so high up and able to see everything. I just need to get a clip for his hat so that when it falls we don't lose it.

We are really looking forward to getting out and doing some outside activities. Hopefully this weather holds up and we get an early spring.

7 Months!

2011-02-25T12:45:00.000-08:00

Jacob is huge...just look at him. He is going to be a very tall boy.

You can just barely see his front two bottom teeth here. He got his first one just before Jan 1st. We are so horrible that we didn't even notice until well after it had popped all the way through. His second one came Just after Feb 1st. But that one we were on top of better.

So cute.

Stowe Vermont

2011-02-03T12:41:00.000-08:00

My brother Matt and his family made a trip from Indiana to Stowe Vermont for a week of frigid vacation time. Personally if I am going on vacation it is tropical not below freezing. He drove up to spend about 36 hours visiting with them and it was really a great time. I didn't take too many pictures but should be able to post more when my SIL sends them to me.

Jonathan got some special time with Mamaw. She is always willing to play memory with the boys.

Cousin Jack loved the matchbox car tracks we brought with us. I think Matt was talking of getting him the set once they got home.

We got to meet my new nephew Gus. It is hard to tell that Jacob is 2 months younger. They are basically the same size.

Thanks Matt and Robin for letting us crash your vacation for a day.

Jacob is 6 Months Old!

2011-01-25T12:27:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that Jacob is already 6 months old. Of course he is the size of the average 12 month old.
Weight 19lbs 14 oz 85%
Length 27in
He has slowed down but is still huge and I have started to put him into 12 month clothes. He has also moved out of the infant car seat and has a brand new regular car seat.

He is eating just ok. Most days he is lucky to get more then 1 solid meal in him. Of course, this isn't all my fault...he just won't eat. He has been sleeping much better. He will sleep from about 7:30 pm to 5am and then for 2 more hours after a nursing. I would love it if he would just go all the way through but he is wide awake and ready to eat. Hopefully soon.

Jacob is an extremely smiley baby. And obviously his brothers love him. It feels as though he has always been a part of our family.

First Solids

2011-01-07T11:44:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of weeks we have been giving Jacob little bites of solid foods here and there. He loved the yams or squash we dabbed on his tongue. But this afternoon we actually got a bowl of rice prepared for him and feed him in his highchair. He loved it.

Of course, by the time I got around to writing this blog Jacob has decided he hates rice cereal. We have struggled with finding foods he will eat but are slowly introducing new things to him. Right now his favorites include: pears, yogurt, strawberries, sweet potato and of course, pizza crust.

Visit To Santa Cruz

2011-01-05T11:35:00.000-08:00

To finish up our trip to California we took the boys to Santa Cruz. This place happens to be one of our favorite places on Earth. (the #1 place being enclosed in an interior room of a cruise ship sound asleep in the middle of the day)

And you can see why...

This beach is called Natural Bridges and it is the most amazing beach. My dad used to come and jump off the bridges when he was a teenager. We enjoyed every part of it.

We hung out with Adams great friend Mark just about all day. Eating at our favorite restaurants and even making a trip up to UCSC to visit my old co-workers. Made me miss them a lot more. The boys had a great time and Adam and I felt like we were in college together again. I think if we had the chance we would move back there in an instant.

While our California trip had its ups and down it was really the best trip we have had out there in...forever. It was really relaxing and comfortable at Janice's and we thank her profusely for all that she gave us. We are very happy to be back in our apartment but can't wait to go back "home".

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T10:17:00.000-08:00

Right before we flew out to California to visit with Adam's family for the holidays Jonathan had his final day at New England Montessori. We decided that the obscene about of money and driving that going to so this wonderful school required was not going to fit into the 5 person family lifestyle. We found another good school not even a half a mile away from our house that will be just fine but not quite as wonderful. Here is Jonathan saying goodbye to Miss Melissa and Miss Karissa.

On Dec 16th we and 7 suitcases were dropped of at Logan Airport to begin our trek to CA. We were very pleasantly surprised to not run into a single travel problem on the two flights across country. We made it home with all our luggage and luckily all of our kids.

Very soon after arriving the boys attached themselves to Grandma Jan-Jan and followed her everywhere whenever we were at her house.

Jonathan's favorite activity was to help with cooking.

She also took them outside to help out in her garden. Unfortunately, it rained nearly every day the first week that we were there. But it was way warmer then MA so it didn't bother the boys in the least.

Grandma had all sorts of activities planned, including gingerbread decorating.

He was so proud of his designs.

On Christmas eve, (well actually we had x-mas 2 days early since we traveled on x-mas eve) we had a rock and roll party with Janice and Darrin.

We got everything ready for Santa.

Christmas morning started out with stocking, which were stuffed to the gills.

Followed by under the tree. This really was such an amazing day for us. We opened presents, ate yummy food and played all day.

Jacob gave us another gift of sitting up for the first time unassisted. 5 months old and he is so big already.

On Dec 24th, we drove up to Galt to see Janice's sisters and mom and their families. We had a bit of a late start due to car trouble. In the end, Adam and I ended up renting the smallest little compact car (all that was left). With help from Uncle Darrin we were able to get up to Galt without being to stuffed.

Adams Grandmother got to meet both Jonathan and Jacob for the first time. The last time she saw Alex he was Jacob's age.

We got a rare photo of the whole family.

The following day we drove to Jackson where Adams Aunt Carole and her husband lives. They have a ranch so we got to see all sorts of amazing things. The boys ran around the goat barn chasing the babies around. Even grabbing a few of them. Alex got really good at it; Jonathan need a bit of assistance.

Uncle Dan then let the boys drive his scoop. They actually got to raise and lower the scoop. It was like Bob the Builder day and they loved it.

The house is actually built into the hill. It was very beautiful and of course, the boys loved running around on the roof.

After leaving Jackson we headed over to Angel's Camp where we stayed with Grandpa Allen and Carol at a condo resort. It rained most of the time but one day we were able to go up to sled. Jacob stayed in the car while we took turns take the bigger guys down the hill. I was able to get a great shot of him and Grandpa.

Uncle Darrin joined us and had a great time too. I must say that if it weren't for him this trip would have been even more difficult then it already was. He basically made it so we had 3 people helping to take care of and entertain the boys, rather then just 2.

On the rainy day we played a lot of Wii. I mean, ALL DAY. For someone who doesn't like video games it was interesting.

We returned to Sunnyvale to spend the rest of our vacation with Janice. More on that in the next post.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-28T13:24:00.000-08:00

This year we were completely blessed to have my parents and brothers visit for Thanksgiving. On Thursday, my parents drove 6 hours and my brothers drive 18 hours to get here. We woke up bright and early Friday to hang out and eat all day.

There were games.

Cuddles and Grandma lap naps.

Crafts...Thanks Uncle Mike.

Lazy chats.

Jacob got to meet his uncle DJ (Dwight Jacob: where we got the Jacob from)

There was talk of a walk but we just ended up at the clubhouse.

We played some pool and hung out by the fire.

Jonathan got lots of time with his fav: Uncle Andy.

Lots of Jacob cuddles.

This was the best Thanksgiving in a long time. I think the guys were here for only 36 hours but it was great. We really appreciate all the driving everyone did. Also, the willingness to sleep on blowup mattresses squeezed next to a wiggling boy. However, whoever taught Alex and Jonathan to hit all the buttons on the elevator and then run will be getting a nice little chat with monster mommy.

Firefighting Academy

2010-11-18T13:14:00.000-08:00

Our homeschooling group got to take a trip to the Firefighting academy here in MA. Surprisingly, both boys listened the whole time.

They got to try out some equipment.

Jacob had fun too.

As we were waiting for them to set the building on fire the boys got to climb around on a truck.

Unfortunately, the burn that was supposed to happen occurred about 10 minutes before the group was outside. So we missed out on that excitement. The boys still had a blast.

The Life Saver

2010-11-17T12:55:00.000-08:00

I got out the Jumperoo a friend gave us today. This is the best invention ever. It is a mix between a johnny jumper and an excersaucer. Most importantly: JACOB LOVES IT. This will save my back and many a burnt dinner.

Mommy's trip to Colorado

2010-11-14T13:07:00.000-08:00

My sister, Michelle, flew Jacob and I out to Colorado this weekend so that we could introduce Jacob to her family. This was so exciting for me. I barely ever get to see my nephews. It is hard to believe that Kevin just turned 10. I remember vividly being at his birth. And Zach is already 6, I helped for 2 weeks after he was born.

Here is Jacob playing on their floor.

Seconds later he rolled over for the first time. I caught the second time on tape.

Just too cute.

Here is my nephew Kevin. I was lucky that the boys had their school performance the weekend I was there. I got to watch them sing and dance; it was great.

Zach loved to hold Jacob. As you can see, it became pretty apparent that Jacob was growing out of the 3-6 months clothes. His pants had to be loosened most of the time.

Here Zach is playing with his cousin again.

And Kevin again.

I had a wonderful time with my sister and her family. I can't wait to go see them again.

Last Soccer Game

2010-11-05T12:47:00.000-07:00

Alex finished up soccer this fall much better then he started. For one he actually played the last game all the way where as he sat on the sideline pouting for the first game.

He got to play goalie one last time. I was very happy for him since this is his favorite position.

We was so proud of Alex. He got through the whole season and loved it. He even has a trophy to remember his first soccer season. Both Alex and Jonathan are already signed up for the spring season. I guess I will be the soccer mom after all.

Here is some great video of Alex as goalie:

Halloween 2010!

2010-10-31T12:30:00.000-07:00

This year I handmade all the boys costumes. Alex's was very easy as it was Mario with a regular red t-shirt, I just had to make the hat.

Jacob was a little alien.

Jonathan wanted to be a red alligator but I could only find a dragon pattern. He was perfectly happy with the trade.

We went to our 3rd Halloween parade through Wilmington.

Here is Jacob in the full gear.

We also went to our moms club halloween party to do crafts and decorate cupcakes.

Jacob had a blast.

We spent time the day of Halloween decorating the biggest pumpkin. It was nicely rotten inside so it disappeared shortly after trick or treating.

And here are all the pumpkins we dealt with this year. Lots of paintings. We had a great Halloween season.

Pumpkin Patch and Apple Picking

2010-10-08T12:17:00.000-07:00

We were very fortunate to have Adam with us on our annual apple picking and pumpkin patch outing. I am not sure how I would have done it alone with all 3 boys. First we hit the hay maze. This is always great because there is so much running involved that it gets out that first bit of excited energy before they need to listen more to us.

The apples were gorgeous this year.

And so were my boys.

After we picked about 20 pounds of apples we grabbed a wagon and headed off to the pumpkin patch.

Can you believe that I got this shot on the first take?

We found out pumpkins pretty quickly. The boys were pretty easy to make happy. I just picked one I liked and said "Hey, how about this one?" Done.

We had a great time and can't wait to be running after Jacob in the patch next year.

Jumpy Thing

2010-10-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

I have to start with a cute pic of Alex and Jacob.

The boys have spent the last couple of weeks saving their change for a ride on the Jumpy Thing in the Nashua mall. This ride is about 5min long and costs $7 so we were reluctant to just let them go whenever. They performed odd jobs around the house to earn dimes and quarters until each of them had enough. I was very worried that they would pay their money and the freak out once on the machine. But I was very wrong.

Here is Alex waiting, barely able to contain himself.

Jonathan was told to stand on a square and he did not budge until it was his turn.

They both got hooked in. They were so small compared to the usual riders that the operator had to switch around all the harnesses.

Alex really caught some airtime.

Jonathan did pretty good. He had a hard time pushing off hard enough. The operator kept going over to him, grabbing his leg and slingshooting him up. It was very cool.

And as you can see they had a great time.

All smiles on these boys.

Day at the Farm

2010-09-26T06:20:00.000-07:00

The Stoney Brook Farm, where we went on a dairy tour last spring, had a family fun day this weekend. There was pony rides, hay rides and lots of smelly animals to enjoy.

It was a beautiful day.

There was a mini farm set up where the boys could be the animals.

We had a blast on the hay ride.

Jacob even enjoyed it.

We were rather chilly near the end so Adam loaned Jonathan his sweatshirt. He is so cute.

Alex was able to get some really amazing smiles out of Jacob.

Thank you Great-Aunt Janice!

2010-09-20T06:10:00.000-07:00

Adam's Aunt Janice has made a blanket for each of our boys and we recently received Jonathan's. She actually won a blue ribbon at a fair for this one and we agree that it is gorgeous.

Here is the one she made Alex.

And Jonathan.

And of course, Jacob.

Thank you Great-Aunt Janice, we love your gifts.

Paint Ourselves!

2010-09-18T06:05:00.000-07:00

Every Kindergarten class starts out with a unit on " All about me". So I started doing various activities with Alex to emulate this unit. This Saturday I told the boys that they were going to paint themselves. Jonathan took this very literally. I was thinking a nice self portrait but when Jonathan started to strip his clothes off and slowly paint red everywhere the day took a turn. The boys had loads of fun. Everything ended with a shower that looked like someone had been murdered.

Soccer game #2

2010-09-17T18:53:00.000-07:00

Alex's second soccer game fell on a Friday evening. We packed up the crew and headed out.

Here is Alex getting all set. We got him really excited to play and at the start he seemed ready to go.

Alex played every time it was his turn. He even got to take a turn as goalie. I was so proud as he blocked every shot.

Jacob loved watching his big bro play. This was a much better game. Alex left very happy and excited for the next one. I was also really excited.

First day of school for Jonathan

2010-09-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

Today Jonathan started preschool at the New England Montessori Academy. This is the same school that Alex was in for 2 years and he is actually in the same classroom that Alex started out in. He was so handsome all dressed and ready to go. Jonathan is my nervous, very shy kid. All summer he would say how he didn't want to go to school and that he would just kick the teacher when he got there. We ended up preparing him by sending him to an hour long class at the Y that lasted 6 weeks. And he also went to day camp with Alex for a while week after Jacob arrived. By the time the first day of school arrived he was much more open to the idea. Just a little nervous still.

Alex also officially started homeschool. Of course, as most of you know he has already been working very hard everyday for awhile now. He learned to read at three and a half and last April we started on the math. Now he is proficient in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. He has also memorized all 50 states and their capitols, has continued his reading program and become an excellent player of The New Super Mario Brothers WII. Which is my backup for when I need a break.

Here we are getting ready to say goodbye to Jonathan.

I missed him a lot and it was hard to see how big he has gotten. He was excellent his first day. The second day he screamed his head off when I left. And on the the third he was fine again.

Jacob has a lot to live up to when it comes to his older brothers. But as you can see he is super.

Yay! I am a soccer mom....almost.

2010-09-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

The day after we returned from Rhode Island was Alex's first soccer game. He did excellent at his first practice the week before and although he was a little nervous he was ready to go.

Here are some quick shots of him warming up.

He was looking really good.

Then he got hit in the stomach with a ball. Game over. He wouldn't budge from the sideline the whole game. He was across the field from us and just kept raising his hand and gesturing for us to come get him.

So superhero Jonathan just hung out. My parents were still there so they sat and cheered on the team. I was pretty peeved and it was all my fault. I had totally psyched myself up and was rather disappointed. I did get over it once Alex started to show enthusiasm the next practice. He said he would hit himself in the stomach more to toughen up. He was out there running right when practice started.

Uncle Don's Graduation

2010-09-01T18:21:00.000-07:00

Twelve weeks ago my "little" bro, Don, reported for OCS for the navy in Newport, Rhode Island. This weekend he graduated and we meet up with my parents and sister to celebrate his graduation.

The weekend started on Wednesday night, or really Thursday at 1am when I picked up my sister from Logan airport. We got home, due to middle of the night roadwork it took twice as long to get home, and promptly(3 hours later) got to sleep. When the boys were up at 6am, we got dressed and started what ended up being over a 3 hour drive to RI. Adam was dropped off at work and Cathie and I, on 2 hours of sleep each met up with my parents. Adam road the train into Providence later in the day to join us.

This is Don in his funny parade call or whatever uniform. He was selected for the colorguard which was awesome.

The boys really behaved amazingly for the graduation. Jonathan was a bit restless but Adam and I took turns walking him around.

Alex sat the whole time and even took a moment to practice his thousand yard stare so that he could be just like his Uncle Don.

Here is Ensign Don about to receive his certificate.

This is his group. They are blindingly white in those uniforms. But all very handsome.

I loved this part. Once he graduated he officially became a higher rank then the men who were his drill instructors. So they all lined up to get their first salute by the men who yelled at them for 3 months.

We are so proud of you Don. One more step completed in your Mission to Mars.

After the graduation was finished we all headed north to our place to hang out for a bit.

My mom and dad were shocked to see just how much Jacob had grown.

The boys sure had tons of fun.

I have to give huge thanks to Adam. First he volunteered to stay home with the boys so I could have a relaxing dinner when we went out to celebrate. And then we brought a fairly inebriated Don home and Adam had to take him out to "celebrate" more.

Statue Of Liberty Road Trip

2010-09-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

We must start with a cute smile from Jacob.

Alex has been begging us for quite awhile now to go visit the Statue of Liberty. He had seen Ghostbusters 2 numerous time and loved the part where the Statue walks through the city. With Adam on vacation for most of August and a little of September we decided to just jump in the car for a road trip. The directions stated that it would take just over 4 hours to get there so we left thinking we would drive for about 9 hours the whole day. Well... more on that later.

The boys had never been to the big city before. We got to drive through Manhatten and they loved it. Of course, I did not like driving in NYC but I handled it.

We only got to stop at Ellis Island for a moment. It took over 6 hours to actually get to the boat so we were a little behind schedule. And we weren't really in the mood to run after the boys in a museum that they weren't interested in. Maybe when they are older we can fully enjoy it.

Unfortunately, the boys were too short to walk up to the crown but we did make it to the top of the pedestal. Where we promptly discovered that I have a completely irrational fear of heights. Walking down the steps just about killed me.

Here we are entering to statue.

We got to look at the flame they had in the entrance. The boys did great so far so we kept going.

Alex had to help pick lady liberty's nose.

Jonathan rubbed her feet.

We got up on the pedestal only to find that there was a wall the boys couldn't see over. In some ways, safety, this was fine. Of course, it meant that we had to lift the boys up to see the view. Scary.

Jonathan started running around the pedestal. Freaking me out more. So finally we just made our way out.

It took over 7 hours to get home with traffic. By the time we arrived at home I had driven nearly 13 hours. Way more then expected. However, we would do it all over again. We had a great family road trip and I really hope to get more in while the kids are willing to be around us.

Grandma Janice and Uncle Darrin Visit

2010-08-27T11:46:00.000-07:00

We haven't seen Janice and Darrin in a whole year so we were thrilled that they came to visit for a whole week. The boys begged to go the airport to pick them up even though they had to be locked in the car for 1.5 hours.

Here is Janice's first chance to meet Jacob.

Uncle Darrin brought several hats with him. Of course, the boys loved this. They had so much fun dressing up and acting cool.

The biggest event for Alex was when they took him to a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. It had been raining for nearly 3 days straight but the clouds let up for his special day. He was in awe and loved every second of it.

Grandma Janice had given the boys their fishing poles so we had to take them over to the local fishing hole. The boys caught many fish and luckily Janice was there to teach me how to get a hook out of the fish if it is swallowed. Double Yuck.

There was plenty of time to swim. I still hadn't been cleared to swim at this point so I missed out, but everyone else had tons of fun.

Here is Darrin's first meeting with Jacob.

Lots of cutes smiles these days.

We also took a drive up to Maine one day. We went to a beautiful lighthouse and walked around. There was also a restaurant with amazing seafood. Of course, Jonathan had a huge fit so I spent lunch in the car but he relaxed enough that I could go pick off other peoples plate near the end.

The boys have figured out how to all fit in my lap.

We had a great time with all our visitors and can't wait to see them in December. I really appreciated all the help you gave me Janice it made everything much easier. (Especially the 2 sleepovers you hosted with the big boys) ( oh and the dishes)

Jacob is 1 Month Old!

2010-08-24T13:49:00.000-07:00

The amazing growth of Jacob:

Born at 7 lbs 11 oz

Left Hospital at 7lbs 8oz

Weight at day 5 7lbs 12oz

Weight on day 33: 11lbs 12oz

That is right people; he gained 4 pounds in a month. Really quite unbelievable. The doctor said he has never seen a child go from the 30% to 90% in such a short time.

Alex and Jonathan have adapted amazingly to Jacob. They really love their baby and take every opportunity to play with him. Alex has even talked me into letting him carry Jacob from one room to another. Of course, my hands are under Jacob the whole time. It is very sad to me that Jacob has gotten so big so fast. Both the other boys stayed right on target. At 3 months they moved into the 3 month clothing. I have already gotten out the 3 month clothes for Jacob and will really miss the new baby clothes. Hopefully, he slows down a bit.

First Bottle!

2010-08-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

We decided that Jonathan would have the honor of being the first to give Jacob a bottle. With the other 2 boys Adam, of course, was the first. But we thought that it would be really special to him and since he is stuck being a middle child we better give him special events whenever possible. Jacob was amazing...he took the bottle immediately. Alex kind of fidgeted with his first and Jonathan wouldn't take one until 10 months old. So I am very excited that Jacob is accepting it and therefore I will be able to go see a movie or go shopping or go sleep all by myself.

Alex got to help out with the bottle too. They both loved finally getting to participate in taking care of their little bro.

Grandpa Allen and Grandma Carol Visit

2010-08-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

On August 15th Allen and Carol came to visit for 4 days. The boys were thrilled since there was yet another guy willing to rough house with them.

I got absolutely no sleep this week. Both the older boys decided that they wanted to get up several times a night so even though Jacob is a wonderful sleeper I did not get to reap the benefits.

The boys showed off their tennis talent. I finally got Jonathan to play long enough to get some pics of him. The boys both love this game. It is a good thing Adam and I love it too.

Glesser men zoning:

We got some of Jacob's first smiles this week. He had already done a few but this time we caught them on camera.

Jonathan is so cute.

We went to Walden pond and walked around a bit. We didn't realize that you could swim so we had no bathing suits with us. It didn't stop the boys though.

Summer Days

2010-08-15T07:12:00.000-07:00

Jacob has been here for 3 weeks already. It is really hard to believe. He is such a wonderful boy. His sleeping habits haven't stayed as nice as the first week but he still is great. I have started giving him a few naps in his crib. Most of the time he just naps in his bouncy. I try to keep the noise level of the house constant so he can sleep through anything. So far it has worked, I vacuumed in his room during his nap and he didn't budge. Yes, we had his hearing checked at the hospital and he can hear. I won't tell the boys to quiet down unless they go into his room screaming. Otherwise, they can act normally during nap time. We have always tried to teach the boys to sleep through noise. I happen to be a very light sleeper and it is a huge annoyance.

We got out and had some fun in the last few weeks of summer. Alex hasn't gotten to ride his bike much due to the overwhelming heat and humidity. It hasn't been so bad lately so I took him out while I went for a walk.

We met up with Jonathan and Adam to play at the park for a bit. Jonathan loves plants and bugs and basically anything he can find that is small. He is really quite amazing at finding small pieces of junk and then, of course, bringing it home.

Alex and Adam played some tennis. I got to play a little while, however my racket just up and cracked in the middle of playing. Weird.

Jonathan showing of the spiral fireman's pole.

These boys play hard and they can also zone out hard. The boys love watching Adam play Super Mario Brothers on the Wii.

I think Jonathan likes his baby.

This face has got to be one of the cutest I have ever seen. Jacob really has started to smile at us. It happened so soon and I think that was the best for the boys to get used to him. Of course, now they want to teach him to talk, crawl and walk.

Frog Pond

2010-08-14T07:17:00.000-07:00

On Adam's last day of summer school I took all the boys into Boston to play at the frog pond and then meet Adam for dinner. This was Jacob's first trip downtown.

It was surprisingly cool so the boys were a little chilly in the unheated wading pool.

They didn't last long in the water so we headed over to the carousel. This was the first time Jonathan went all by himself.

We had great fun and of course, great pizza. We are already looking forward to our next trip.

Cute pics of the boys

2010-08-09T07:08:00.000-07:00

Baby Pics: A Comparison

2010-08-08T12:10:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos of all the boys on their first day.

Jacob:

Jonathan:

Alex:

Yep, they are brothers all right.

Happy 5th Birthday Alex!

2010-08-08T11:56:00.000-07:00

Since Jacob was born the day before Alex's birthday and we were still in the hospital most of his actual birthday we had our family celebration on the 26th. We kind of lied and told him it was the 25th, which totally messed up the dating of his school work all week. He insisted that it was a day earlier then was it really was.

Adam and I got him a soccer ball and shortly after he opened it we went out to play. They both had tons of fun and I do believe Jonathan will be out running Alex soon.

I can't believe that Alex is already 5. Considering Jacob looks exactly like Alex did at birth I feel like I am in a time warp. Holding a brand new baby and wishing my other baby a happy 5th.

Cute Baby pics: the first week

2010-08-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

I have been blogging for over an hour so I am just going to post pics here.

First Bath

2010-08-01T06:50:00.000-07:00

It took us nearly a week to give Jacob his first bath at home. The boys were so excited and they had so many questions about his belly button. Jacob did very well. He wasn't a big fan of being naked but once he hit the warm water he calmed down.

This is actually the first first-bath that I gave. With the other boys my mom gave the first bath.

Grandpa got the pass off.

Here is Jacob in the crib all set up. We had to wait to finish the nursery until my parents left and we could get the office all cleared out. But the bed is freshly painted and the bedding is homemade. He is all set.

Here he is on the quilt I made him.

Jonathan just seems so huge now. He used to be my little boy and now he is my little man.

Fishing Take 2

2010-07-31T06:32:00.000-07:00

With my dad visiting this weekend we thought it would be a great time to take the boys fishing again. It helps that my dad was willing to bait the hooks and remove any caught fish.

(please forgive the sideways pics, I am on the netbook which doesn't have photoshop)

Here is Alex's first fish.

Just a couple of seconds later Jonathan got his first fish.

Jonathan just loved the fishes dancing all over when they were out of the water. He really didn't fish much, mainly he played with the worms and helped throw the fish back in the water.

My parents are about to leave me alone with all these males. We were able to catch one good pic of them all together. I was so lucky to have my mom be able to help me the first week after Jacob was here. She really was a big help and I am going to miss her tremendously.

Going Home to Big Brothers!

2010-07-26T11:46:00.000-07:00

Taking home each of our sons from the hospital has been completely unique experiences.

With Alex my mom was at our house waiting to take care of me. Adam and I were tremendously nervous and we drove home very slow. I cautiously moved around, not used to the after pain of delivering a baby. And of course, we struggled to get Alex to eat.

Jonathan was entirely different. He was born at 10:30pm and we left the hospital at 8am the next morning. Taking a cab home, in which I climbed into the back and secured the car seat not really caring about the after labor pains anymore. My mom was with us and when we arrived home Adam had to leave immediately to go pick up Alex.

With Jacob, we stayed in the hospital 36 hours and left nearly against medical advice. Jacob kept gagging up mucus and the nurse was concerned, however, the pediatrician wasn't so we were excused. Which was nice, seeing as I was bored to tears in the hospital. The boys were with my mom at our home and weren't expecting us until the following day. They were very surprised and immediately began behaving like monsters. Luckily, that calmed down within a day or two.

Adam had to go back to work when Jacob was only 2 days old. It was a good thing my mom was there or I think I would have died. I still over did it but she was there to pick up the pieces when I just couldn't handle it anymore.

Jacob had some bilirubin issues so he got a few sun baths.

Isn't he cute in the bouncy we used for both of our other boys.

Adam had him learning how to veg early.

The first few days were surprisingly easy. Jacob sleeps most of the time and I actually have to wake him up for midnight feedings. I am sure it won't last but I am sure enjoying it.

Welcome Baby Jacob Austin!

2010-07-24T13:49:00.001-07:00

Today we welcomed our third son Jacob Austin into the world.

Last weekend my mom decided to drive to our place on Wednesday rather then Saturday. We had loaned her our car so she had more freedom when she left and boy are we happy we did. On Friday, after a girls afternoon out with my mom and a yummy Chili's dinner early labor started at 8:30. At first, we weren't taking it very seriously but within an hour we decided it was time to call in the babysitter and get all packed up. Adam and I spent 30 minutes rearranging the car. I might be the only woman in labor ever to climb into the third row of a mini van and install a car seat all while have severe contractions. Baby Jacob was 3 days early so we weren't quite ready. The car seat were the last project and we just kept putting it off. By 10:45pm the babysitter arrived and we made our way into the hospital. I was so lucky that when we arrived I was already 5 cm. My epidural was in place in just over an hour and boy howdy was that nice. When it came time to push the nurse actually told me not to at all until the doctor arrived. 2 or 3 contractions later out popped Jacob right into my moms arms. She caught all 3 of my boys and that was the best part of any of it. All the nurses were in shock that this particular doctor let her do anything, but really she did just about everything. Even holding him while he was suctioned and Adam cut the cord. Jacob spent some time on my tummy but the proceeded to take a huge dump all over me. Although, it was hard to give him up I thought getting cleaned up might be a good idea.

He weighed in at 7 lbs 11 oz, just like big brother Alex. He is 21 inches. I can't remember what the other boys were so I will have to look that one up. Here are some pics of the first hours.

When I was finally transferred into my room I got him all ready for his big brothers to visit.

Of course, right when they arrive he had another big diaper so the boys got to watch me do my first changing.

Then they took turns holding their new baby brother.

Somehow, my mom was able to capture this amazing first family photo. I have to admit we are beautiful.

We feel so complete and I can't wait to see how our lives go from here. Right now I just want to get through the next few nights, but I am very excited to see how the boys interact with Jacob and what all Jacob learns from the boys. I will try to get more pics up soon. We should be going home Monday morning.

Fishing Take 1

2010-07-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

Grandma Janice got the boys fishing gear for their birthdays this year. We are so very excited about this. We got Adam a license and headed out the first chance we had. Of course, being the nerds we are we thought we could just dig up some worms near the pond we were at. Nope. So we put the fake worms on and gave it a try. Nothing. Oh well, the boys had fun anyway and I think Wal-Mart sells worms.

My men sure were looking good that day.

Mario Party!

2010-07-10T11:31:00.000-07:00

Seeing as the boys are obsessed with the Mario Brothers we had a combined Marion themed party. Here is their cake.

It didn't make it so I had to removed the top before disaster struck. It still turn out really great.

We started the party off in our pool. This summer it has barely rained at all.

Of course, the day of the party it poured so we had to move the pizza and cake into our apartment. This is a rather daunting prospect considering we live in an apartment that is really too small for the 20 some people who came. We still had a blast. I made Mario hats for all the kids. They were too cute.

We also played pinned the M on the Mario hat. Of course, Alex, a known cheater won. But since he already had the prize we gave the next top two the prizes. This did not make Alex happy, but after all they won with their eyes closed and he with his eyes open.

Now the question is "will we do a combined party for all three kids next year?"

Happy Fourth of July!

2010-07-04T11:20:00.000-07:00

Adam was home from Europe just in time for the annual Wilmington Family Fun Day Carnival. Last year we took the boys and they loved it. See post. This year since I couldn't go on the rides Adam got the pleasure of taking each boy often several times. I think he had a bit of a headache and tummyache by the end of the day.

The boys favorite last year was the giant slide. So this is what we hit first. Alex went by himself the first time but realized that it was a bit too fast, which meant Adam got double rides on the slide from then on.

The fun house was another favorite this year. I think by the 10th time through, the boys were going on their own.

Pics of other fun rides.

Fireworks aren't until nearly 10pm here. It was such a long day that the boys just couldn't manage to wait. We did wake up Alex to watch but Jonathan slept right through the whole thing.

We had just an amazing 4th this year. Just think, next year we will be sharing it with 3 gorgeous boys.

Worst Museum Trip Ever

2010-06-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

Wanting to keep my mom from being too bored we packed up and went to the Science Museum today. Big mistake. The boys were in horrible moods, the fought, and whined the whole time. We ended up leaving early because I just couldn't take it and actually started having much more serious braxton hicks. Thankfully, once they went to bed that night the contractions settled down. We have no idea where this mood came from but it better go away because they have had no special treats, movies or snacks since.

Alex's First Tennis Lesson

2010-06-28T18:26:00.000-07:00

We signed Alex up for a weeks worth of tennis lessons and they started today. He absolutely loved them. We were hesitant to sign him up for anymore since he seems to get bored with other classes we have gotten him into. But I plan on signing him up for next week asap. This is the first time that he was ready for the next class right away.

Zoo Day and Funny Rib Pics

2010-06-24T18:20:00.000-07:00

On the hottest, most humid day of the week we decided to go to the zoo. Bad idea. But luckily, this zoo is so small that it takes about 1.5 hours for the whole adventure and that includes a train ride and some time at the park. Of course, today the boys were so hot at the park that they just sat in the huge spider web the whole time. We had fun but I think we will not be doing this while it is so hot.

While in Texas with my parents, Jonathan decided he loved ribs. Of course, my dad lost his whole meal when they learned this. I made ribs for dinner and both boys dug in with fervor.

Jonathan polished the ribs completely clean. It was really unbelievable. At least now I know one thing to bring to a bbq for the boys.